Earthquake survivors in Indian Kashmir, where the delivery of relief supplies remains patchy in remote villages, complained yesterday that political parties have disrupted distribution efforts. âOur village has not received any government relief so far as we had voted for the opposition during the last elections,â says Farooq Ahmed, a resident of Garkote village in northern Uri sector. âWe are being victimised for our political ideologies,â he said, adding that whatever relief they received was from separatists and local charities.
A government official involved in the relief operation, who did not want to be named, acknowledged that at least one senior Kashmir state minister was interfering in relief distribution in the two worst-hit areas of Uri and Tangdar. âThere is interference and it is affecting our operations,â he said. âWe are being asked to take care of a particular area, which is not good.â The 7.6-magnitude earthquake which hit Oct. 8 destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 houses in Indian Kashmir and left more than 1,300 people dead. |